Door closer

ABSTRACT

A door closer including a housing for attachment to the door frame, the housing carrying a rotatably mounted operating arm for attachment to the door, the housing containing spring means which is stressed axially in response to axial movement of a spring seating within the housing, the spring seating being coupled to the pivot for the operating arm through a linkage system.

United States Patent Brown [45] Apr. 18, 1972 [54] DOOR CLOSER 3,174,177 3/1965 Bugge 16/53 [72] Inventor: John Brown, Nowell Street, Kings Hill, FOREIGN PATENTS OR C -i Wednesbury, England Filed: Sept. 1969 114,871 3/1942 Austraha ..l6/52 [21] Appl. No.: 860,249 Primary Examiner-James T. McCall Assistant Examiner-Garry Moore 52 us. c1 ..16/52, 188/289 Mama-Harm Ball [51] Int. Cl. ..E05f 3/10 [58] Field of Search ..l6/52, 57, e5, 70; 188/289 [57] ABSTRACT A door closer including a housing for attachment to the door [56] References Cited frame, the housing carrying a rotatably mounted operating UNITED STATES PATENTS arm for attachment to the door, the housing containing spring means which is stressed axially in response to axial movement 3,215,283 1 l/ 1965 Shaver 188/289 of a spring seating within the housing, the spring seating being 753,838 3/1904 B y----- coupled to the pivot for the operating arm through a linkage 1,770,250 7/1930 Norton system. 1,871,030 8/1932 Bommer 2,971,212 2/ 1961 voster et al. 16/55 8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 38 35 36 35 47 34 SI 59 50 48 27/0 3O 27 42 26 A5 PATENTEDAPR 18 m2 SHEET 1 BF 3 INVENTOR JOHN BROWN flawwkfibh,

S Q Mn ww Q men mm fiwmk nmonmm mm ATTORNEYS PATENTEDAPRIBIWZ 3,65 ,204

SHEET 2 OF 3 F/Gf).

INVENTOR JOHN BROWN 7 PATENTEDAPR 181972 3,656 204 sum 3 OF 3 BNVENTOR JOHN BROWN BY v flak WW4! ATTORNEYS noon CLOSER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION rotational movement of the arm relative to the housing in a direction corresponding to opening movement of the door, the restoring action of the spring acting to effect rotation of the arm relative to the housing in the opposite direction to close the door, the spring means having associated therewith damping means whereby controlled closing of the door is effected.

2. Description of the Prior Art In prior forms of door closer of the above kind the spring means has been arranged to act between a fixed abutment and a movable seating coupled through a connecting rod to the pivot pin on which the operating arm is mounted and the restoring force of the spring has progressively increased, sometimes at an increasing rate, on rotation of the door such that it is often difficult to move the door to a fully open position.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a door closer of the kind referred to above in which, during continued rotation of the door from a fully closed to a fully open position, the restoring force exerted by the spring means does not increase uniformly, increasing at a decreasing rate, during movement of the door into its fully open position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A door closer of the kind referred to above in which the spring means is arranged to be stressed axially in response to axial movement of a seating for the spring, the spring seating being pivotally connected to a primary link which is pivotally connected to a connecting rod coupled to a pivot pin to which the operating arm is connected, said connecting rod also being pivotally connected to a secondary link pivoted to the housing of the door closer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a sectional view through the housing of a door closer showing the various parts of the closer in full line in the positions which they occupy when the door associated therewith is closed and showing some of them in dotted lines in positions which they occupy when the door is open,

FIG. 2 is a transverse view of the door closer, FIG. 2 being an end view with some of the parts of the door closer operating mechanism removed,

FIG. 3 is an end view of the door closer with the end cap removed, FIG. 3 being taken from the same end as FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a view of the other end of the housing again with the end cap removed,

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an end cap,

FIG. 6 is a detail perspective view showing the projecting portion of a pivot pin for mounting the operating arm of the closer on the housing thereof and FIG. 7 is a sectional view through the housing showing the pivot pin construction.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in the drawings the door closer includes a housing 10 which is of square section externally and which is provided through the major part of its length with a cylindrical bore 11. Passing through the housing adjacent one end thereof is a pivot pin 12 which is supported in bearing bushes 13 which, see FIG. 7, are externally screw-threaded and are received in threaded sockets in opposed side walls of the housing. The pin 12 projects externally of the housing 10 at each side thereof and is adapted to have secured thereto, on one end or the other, one arm 14 of the operating arm assembly of the closer. The other arm 15 of the operating arm assembly has an attachment bracket 16 pivotally connected to it and the bracket 16 is, in use, secured to the door frame while the housing 10 is secured to the door.

By providing a pivot pin 12 which extends through the housing and projects on both sides thereof, the arm 14 can be secured to either end of the pivot pin 12, thus enabling the door closer to be fitted readily regardless of whether the door is hinged on the left-hand side or on the right-hand side.

Extending inwardly from each end face 17 of the pivot pin 12 (see FIG. 6) there is an internally threaded blind bore 18 which is arranged to receive the shank of a head bolt. Adjacent each end face the pivot pin 12 is formed with a plurality of circumferentially spaced recesses 19 which provide tooth formations and the recesses 19 are of arcuate form in crosssection and taper from the end face 17 towards the inner portion of the pivot pin 12 so that a scalloped tooth formation is provided at each end of the pivot pin 12.

The portion of the pivot pin 12 between the adjacent housing wall and the scalloped tooth formation is surrounded by an externally threaded ring 20 formed of aluminium and preferably integral with the associated bearing bush l3 and the two rings 20 are arranged to have threaded caps (not shown) fitted onto them so that the ends of the pivot pin 12 to which the operating arm 14 is not attached can be concealed by its end cap so as to improve the aesthetic appeal of the door closer. The arm 14 which is connected to the pivot pin is formed with a socket (not shown) in which the spigot constituted by the scalloped-toothed part of the pivot pin 12 is received and the socket of the arm is internally toothed, the teeth being of somewhat barrel shape so as to mate with the scalloped teeth of the pivot pin. The scalloped tooth formation of the pivot pin, in combination with the shaping of the teeth of the socket in the arm, in such that, when the arm 14 is secured to the pivot pin-l2 by the bolt whose shank goes into the threaded bore 18 in the end of the pivot pin and the head of which bears, through a washer (not shown), on the surrounds of the sockets in the arm, working of the aluminum or aluminium alloy of which the arm is formed is prevented or substantially prevented so that the connection between the operating arm 14 and the pivot pin 12 does not tend to slacken. If, however, after a number of years of use, there should be some slack between the pivot pin 12 and the operat ing arm 14, this can be taken up by further tightening the bolt.

The end of the bore in the housing adjacent the pivot pin 12 is closed by an end assembly 21 (see FIG. 4) which has a fluidtight threaded engagement with the wall of the bore 11 and the bore 11 is then'closed by means of a removable square plate 22 which fits in the end of the bore and affords an end wall for the housing. The end plate 22 is held in position in engagement with the housing 10 by engagement of spring clip formations 24 integrally with the plate with the wall of the bore 11.

At the other end of the bore of the housing there is provided a further end assembly 24 which has a fluid-tight threaded engagement with the wall of the bore 11 and the construction of said end assembly 24 is hereinafter described in detail.

not extend completely through the wall of the housing but are arranged so that only a small pressure is required to rupture the base of each hole so that, when securing the housing to the door, this can readily be effected without the requirement for a drilling operation to be carried out. As mentioned above, the housing is externally of square cross-section and there are two fixing holes 25 formed in one side wall of the housing and two formed in the opposite side wall so that either of said two side walls can be secured in face-to-face contact with the wall. The axes of the fixing holes are inclined acutely to the axis of the cylindrical bore 11 so as to facilitate access thereto.

The pivot pin 12 is formed intermediate its ends with a pair of cranks 26 between which is pivotally connected one end of a connecting rod 27. The other end of the connecting rod 27, which is of bell-crank form is pivotally connected at 28 to one end of a primary link 29. The connecting rod 27 is also pivotally connected at 30 to one end of a secondary link 31 which is of curved form as shown in FIG. 1 and whose other end is pivoted at 32 to the housing 10.

The primary link 29, which is in fact a pair of spaced apart parallel links, extends substantially axially of the housing and, at their ends opposite to the pivotal connection 28, the individual links of the primary link 29 are connected to a piston assembly 33. The piston assembly 33 has a cylindrical peripheral wall which is a close sliding fit in the bore 11 of the housing so as to provide a seal between the piston assembly 33 and the bore of the housing.

The piston 33 is provided with a central web or body portion from one end face of which there projects an axially extending cylindrical member 34. There is a through bore passing through the cylindrical member 34 and the body portion of the piston 33 and, at diametrically opposite positions, the body of the piston assembly is formed with valve ports 35 with which are associated captive balls 36 and the port/ball arrangements function as a pair of one-way valves carried by the piston assembly 33. The balls 36 are held in position by bars 37 (see FIG. 2 which is an end view of the housing with the end assembly 24 removed). At positions spaced 90 from the positions of the one-way valves, the body of the piston assembly 33 is formed with a pair of recesses (not shown) in which the ends of the links of the primary link 29 are located, the link ends being secured in position by transversely extending pins which pass through the wall of the piston assembly 33.

The piston assembly 33 is guided for sliding movement within the housing 10 on a centrally disposed axially extending hollow spindle 38 which is carried by the end assembly 24, the spindle 38 passing through the through bore in the piston assembly 33.

That face of the body of the piston assembly which is disposed inwardly, i.e., faces towards that end of the housing 10 which carries the pivot pin 12, is formed to provide a seat for a coil spring 39, one end of the spring 39 being seated on the piston assembly 33 and the other end of the spring 39 bearing against an internal shoulder 40 formed within the cylindrical bore 11.

When the door is closed the spring 39 is unstressed and, when the door is opened, the primary link 29 is moved to the right hand side of FIG. 1 and moves the piston 33 with it and thus stresses the spring 39. When the door is released after opening it, the spring will return to its originally unstressed state, i.e., to the position shown in the drawing. When the door is open the operating arm 14 moves to the position shown in chain dot in FIG. 1 and the cranks 26 are rotated in the clockwise direction, the door opening clockwise, from the position shown in full in FIG. 1 to the position indicated by the broken line 41 in FIG. 1. During such movement of the cranks 26, the pivotal connection 42 between the cranks 26 and the connecting rod 27 will move in an arcuate path from the position shown in full lines in FIG. 1 to the position indicated by the reference numeral 43 in FIG. 1. During such movement of the bell-crank connecting rod 27 the secondary link 31 will, by virtue of its pivotal connection at 32 to the housing 10, pivot about its pivot axis 32 so that the pivot connection 30 will move along an arcuate path about the point 32 from the position shown in full at 30 in FIG. 1 to the position indicated by the reference numeral 44 in FIG. 1. The pivotal connection of the connecting rod 27 to the secondary link 29 will move from the position shown at 28 in FIG. 1 to the position indicated by the reference numeral 45 in FIG. 1. During such rotation of the pivot pin 12 and axial movement, or substantially axial movement of the primary link 29, the piston assembly 33 moves from the position shown in full lines in FIG. 1 to the position indicated by the broken lines 46 in FIG. 1, with the pivot connection 47 of the primary link to the piston assembly 33 moving from position 47 to a position 48.

The linkage system constituted by the connecting rod 27, the secondary link 31, which functions as a guide or control link, and the primary link 29 is such that, during rotation of the pivot pin 12 the degree of axial or substantially axial movement of the link 29 is, over a major portion of the range of rotation of the pivot pin 12, equivalent to the angular rotation of the pivot pin 12. During rotation of the pivot pin 12 the inclination of the primary link 29 to the axis of the bore 11 changes slightly, said inclination being represented by the line joining the pivotal connections of the primary link 29, it being apparent from FIG. 1 that the line joining the points 45 and 48 is inclined at a greater angle to the axis of the cylinder than the line joining the points 28 and 47. With this arrangement the restoring action exerted by the spring 39 is substantially proportional to the degree of opening movement of the door through the major part of the opening movement.

When the door is released after opening it, the spring 39 will return to its original position as shown in FIG. 1 and will cause rotation of the cranks 26 in an anti-clockwise direction so as to close the door. During this restoring movement of the spring 39 and return movement of the piston assembly 33 to its original position, the balls 36 will seat so as to close the ports 35 in the body of the piston so that the hydraulic fluid in that compartment of the housing 10 between the piston assembly 33 and the end assembly 24 has to return to the other compartment of the housing along a restricted path defined by the through bore in the piston 33 and its cylindrical member 34 and a flat (not shown) which is formed externally on the hollow spindle 38. The spindle 38 and the cylindrical member 34 co-operate to form a variable check valve and the internal wall of the cylindrical member 34 is milled to provide a groove 49 which is of decreasing width from the end adjacent the end assembly 24 to a position intermediate the length of the cylindrical member 34, the groove 49 being bounded on one side by a side wall which is parallel to the axis of the spindle 38 and bounded on its other side by a side wall which is inclined to said axis. The groove 49 co-operates with the flat on the spindle to provide a leakage path of variable length, the arrangement being such that, when the flat is in register with the groove 49, comparatively little resistance to fluid flow is afforded by that part of the fluid path where the flat and groove are in register whereas substantially greater resistance is afforded by that part of the fluid path where the flat is in register with an ungrooved part of the inner surface of the cylindrical member 34. The arrangement is such that with the flat of the spindle at different angular orientations relative to the groove 49 of the cylindrical member 34, different lengths of restriction are obtained so that the combination of the spindle 38 with its flat and the cylindrical member 34 with its groove 49 provides a variable check valve.

A rod 50 is mounted within the hollow spindle 38 and is provided with an axially extending groove 51. The spindle 38 is formed with a pair of axially spaced ports (not shown) and the rod 50 can be rotated so as to bring the groove 51 either into or out of register with the ports in the spindle. When the groove 51 is in register with the ports, the restricted oil flow path between the external surface of the spindle 38 and the internal surface of the cylindrical member 34 is by-passed so as to permit a rapid return movement of the spring to its original position since, by by-passing the restricted flow path, the damping means afforded thereby is rendered ineffective. When the groove 51 is out of register with the ports of the spindle, the closing of the door is damped under the control of the variable check valve.

There is a lever 52 secured to the end of the spindle 38 which projects from the end assembly 24 and the lever 52 is arranged to move over a scale or guide 53 carried by the end assembly 24 so as to indicate the relative angular positions of the spindle 38 and the cylindrical member 34 and thus the degree of damping afforded by the variable check valve. The rod 50 has, at its free end, a lever 54 for rotating it relative to the spindle 38 and the lever 54 is arranged to co-operate with a stop 55 carried by the spindle 38 to indicate the angular position of the rod 50 relative to the spindle 38. With this arrangement a user can readily check whether the snap-shut facility is operative and can easily set the lever 54 to a snapshut position and the user can also set the lever 52 to a position corresponding to the degree of damping he wishes to obtain.

Adjacent its end at which the operating lever 52 is provided, the spindle 38 is formed with an annular groove in which a pair of sealing rings 63 are located and these bear against the inner cylindrical wall of the end assembly 24 to provide a seal between the spindle 38 and the end assembly 24. The rod 50 is formed, at an aligned position, with an annular groove in which a further pair of sealing rings 64 are located to provide a seal between the rod 50 and the spindle 38. A port (not shown), is formed in the spindle 38 extending from the annular groove therein to the annular groove in the rod 50 on the inner sides of the two sealing rings in the two grooves and the rod is formed with an axially extending slot indicated by a broken line 65 in FIG. 1 and the slot communicates with the inner side of the annular groove in the rod 50 and leads to the free inner end of the rod 50. This arrangement prevents the build-up of fluid pressure against the sealing rings 63 and 64.

The housing is formed of aluminium as an extrusion and the operating arms 14 and 15 and the associated bracket 16 are also formed from aluminium so that the door closer matches conventional door furniture and accordingly has aesthetic advantages in addition to its functional advantages.

What I claim then is:

1. In a door closer including a housing, a crank supported for turning movement relative to the housing, an arm operatively connected to the crank for turning the crank in response to opening and closing movement of a door on which the closer is mounted, spring means including a spring seating arranged for axial movement within the housing and linkage means connecting the crank to the spring seating in such a way that the spring seating moves to stress the spring means in response to turning movement of the crank in a sense corresponding to opening of the door and the restoring action of the spring means exerted on the spring seating tends to turn the crank in a sense corresponding to closing of the door, the improvement wherein the linkage means comprises:

a. a primary link connected pivotally at one end to the spring seating,

b. a connecting link having a first pivotal connection with the other end of the primary link and a second pivotal connection with the crank, and

c. a secondary link connected pivotally to the housing and to the connecting link, the pivotal connection of the secondary link with the connecting link being intermediate the first and second pivotal connections,

d. spring seating is arranged to divide the housing into two fluid-containing compartments, the spring seating carrying valve means which is arranged to be open when the seating is moved in a direction to stress the spring means and which is closed when the spring means moves the seating in the opposite direction, the spring seating is mounted for sliding movement on an axially-disposed hollow spindle and the spring seating and said spindle include cooperating means for providing a path for fluid flow between said compartments.

2. A door closer according to claim 1 in which the spindle is rotatable about its axis relative to the spring seating and in which said co-operating means comprises a flat formed on the external surface of the spindle and a groove formed in the spring seating, said groove tapering in an axial direction towards the crank.

3. A door closer according to claim 2 in which the hollow spindle extends through, and has sealing engagement with, an

end wall of the housing and in which a lever is operatively connected to the spindle externally of the housing for effecting rotation of the spindle relative to the spring seating.

4. A door closer according to claim 1 in which the hollow spindle accommodates therein means for enabling fluid to flow. between said compartments. I

5. A door closer according to claim 4 in which said means accommodated within said spindle comprises a rotatablymounted rod which is fixed against axial movement and is formed with an axial groove which co-operates with the inter nal surface of said spindle.

6. A door closer according to claim 5 in which the rod extends through an end wall of the housing and has sealing engagement with the spindle and in which a lever is operatively connected to the rod for efiecting rotation thereof relative to the spindle.

7. A door closer which includes a housing, a crank supported for turning movement relative to the housing, an arm operatively connected to the crank for turning the crank in response to opening and closing movement of a door on which the closer is mounted, spring means including a spring seating arranged for axial movement within the housing, damping means associated with the spring means, control means operatively connected to the damping means for controlling the damping means so that controlled closing of the door is effected and linkage means connecting the crank to the spring seating in such a way that the spring; seating moves to stress the spring means in response to turning movement of the crank in a sense corresponding to opening of the door and the restoring action of the spring means exerted on the spring seating tends to turn the crank in a sense corresponding to closing of the door,

the linkage means comprising a primary link connected pivotally at one end to the spring seating, a connecting link having a first pivotal connection with the other end of the primary link and a second pivotal connection with the crank and a secondary link connected pivotally to the housing and to the connecting link, the pivotal connec tion of the secondary link with the connecting link being intermediate the first and second pivotal connections,

the secondary link including a concave edge portion and being arranged with the concave edge portion presented towards the crank,

the spring seating being arranged to divide the housing into two fluid-containing compartments, the spring seating carrying valve means which is arranged to be open when the seating is moved in a direction to stress the spring means and which is closed when the spring means moves the seating in the opposite direction, and

the damping means including co-operating means comprising an axially tapering groove formed in the spring seating and a flat formed on the external surface of the spindle, the spindle being rotatable relative to the spring seating and extending through, and having sealing engagement with, an end wall of the housing and said control means being connected to the spindle externally of the housing.

8. A door closer according to claim '7 which includes bypass means providing a by-pass fluid-flow path between said compartments, said by-pass means including a rotatablymounted rod accommodated within, and fixed against axial movement relative to, the spindle, the rod being formed with an axial groove which co-operates with the internal surface of said spindle and provides a part of said by-pass fluid-flow path and the rod being arranged to extend through an end wall of the housing and have sealing engagement with the spindle, a lever being operatively connected to the rod externally of the housing for effecting rotation thereof relative to the spindle. 

1. In a door closer including a housing, a crank supported for turning movement relative to the housing, an arm operatively connected to the crank for turning the crank in response to opening and closing movement of a door on which the closer is mounted, spring means including a spring seating arranged for axial movement within the housing and linkage means connecting the crank to the spring seating in such a way that the spring seating moves to stress the spring means in response to turning movement of the crank in a sense corresponding to opening of the door and the restoring action of the spring means exerted on the spring seating tends to turn the crank in a sense corresponding to closing of the door, the Improvement wherein the linkage means comprises: a. a primary link connected pivotally at one end to the spring seating, b. a connecting link having a first pivotal connection with the other end of the primary link and a second pivotal connection with the crank, and c. a secondary link connected pivotally to the housing and to the connecting link, the pivotal connection of the secondary link with the connecting link being intermediate the first and second pivotal connections, d. spring seating is arranged to divide the housing into two fluid-containing compartments, the spring seating carrying valve means which is arranged to be open when the seating is moved in a direction to stress the spring means and which is closed when the spring means moves the seating in the opposite direction, the spring seating is mounted for sliding movement on an axially-disposed hollow spindle and the spring seating and said spindle include cooperating means for providing a path for fluid flow between said compartments.
 2. A door closer according to claim 1 in which the spindle is rotatable about its axis relative to the spring seating and in which said co-operating means comprises a flat formed on the external surface of the spindle and a groove formed in the spring seating, said groove tapering in an axial direction towards the crank.
 3. A door closer according to claim 2 in which the hollow spindle extends through, and has sealing engagement with, an end wall of the housing and in which a lever is operatively connected to the spindle externally of the housing for effecting rotation of the spindle relative to the spring seating.
 4. A door closer according to claim 1 in which the hollow spindle accommodates therein means for enabling fluid to flow between said compartments.
 5. A door closer according to claim 4 in which said means accommodated within said spindle comprises a rotatably-mounted rod which is fixed against axial movement and is formed with an axial groove which co-operates with the internal surface of said spindle.
 6. A door closer according to claim 5 in which the rod extends through an end wall of the housing and has sealing engagement with the spindle and in which a lever is operatively connected to the rod for effecting rotation thereof relative to the spindle.
 7. A door closer which includes a housing, a crank supported for turning movement relative to the housing, an arm operatively connected to the crank for turning the crank in response to opening and closing movement of a door on which the closer is mounted, spring means including a spring seating arranged for axial movement within the housing, damping means associated with the spring means, control means operatively connected to the damping means for controlling the damping means so that controlled closing of the door is effected and linkage means connecting the crank to the spring seating in such a way that the spring seating moves to stress the spring means in response to turning movement of the crank in a sense corresponding to opening of the door and the restoring action of the spring means exerted on the spring seating tends to turn the crank in a sense corresponding to closing of the door, the linkage means comprising a primary link connected pivotally at one end to the spring seating, a connecting link having a first pivotal connection with the other end of the primary link and a second pivotal connection with the crank and a secondary link connected pivotally to the housing and to the connecting link, the pivotal connection of the secondary link with the connecting link being intermediate the first and second pivotal connections, the secondary link including a concave edge portion and being arranged with the concave edge portion presented towards the crank, the spring seating being arranged to divide the housing into two fluid-containing compartments, the spring seating carrying valve means which is arranged to be open when the seating is moved in a direction to stress the spring means and which is closed when the spring means moves the seating in the opposite direction, and the damping means including co-operating means comprising an axially tapering groove formed in the spring seating and a flat formed on the external surface of the spindle, the spindle being rotatable relative to the spring seating and extending through, and having sealing engagement with, an end wall of the housing and said control means being connected to the spindle externally of the housing.
 8. A door closer according to claim 7 which includes by-pass means providing a by-pass fluid-flow path between said compartments, said by-pass means including a rotatably-mounted rod accommodated within, and fixed against axial movement relative to, the spindle, the rod being formed with an axial groove which co-operates with the internal surface of said spindle and provides a part of said by-pass fluid-flow path and the rod being arranged to extend through an end wall of the housing and have sealing engagement with the spindle, a lever being operatively connected to the rod externally of the housing for effecting rotation thereof relative to the spindle. 